Use of online dating websites increases in divorce cases

On behalf of The Law Offices of Dorie A. Rogers, APC posted in Divorce on Monday, February 25, 2013.

The Internet offers many benefits for users across the country, including residents of Orange County, California. Many use the Internet to seek lifelong partners or simply to seek companionship through the advent of online dating services. However, users of online dating services, according to a recent survey, need to be careful about the information they provide to such services. It can come back to haunt married individuals, particularly when they are in the middle of divorce proceedings.

According to a survey of leading divorce attorneys conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), the number of divorce cases that cite dating website information as evidence in court has increased in the past three years. Of the U.S. divorce attorneys responding to the survey, 59 percent confirmed that use of information from online dating sites has increased. The top dating service cited by 64 percent of the attorneys was Match.com. The second highest cited was eHarmony by 9 percent of the responders followed by 27 percent listing other websites.

The AAML president acknowledged that online dating website users often put false information on their online profiles, but warned that doing so may complicate divorce and family law issues down the road. Accordingly, people who register on dating websites should provide honest and accurate personal information about themselves such as their relationship status, salary, occupation and parental status. Any incorrect personal information may be regarded as duplicitous and can be used in court in the future as a relevant factor in divorce proceedings or in an alimony or child support dispute.

In divorce proceedings, many sources of information may be used by one party against the other, including online dating account records and financial institution records. Therefore, it is probably best to wait to start your online dating life until after the divorce.

1 Comment

If chatting to an ex, the secrecy is because their spouse 'might take it the wrong way'.
Shouting and screaming at each other will not help and you will
achieve much more from a calm space. He retaliates to his wife's rejections in the only way he knows - he has married affairs.

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